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Do or Don't Pending List

Guest post by: Jim Stovall

Article Overview: As a blind person in a print and paper world, I have learned several lessons that I think can benefit us all. Since I have people read all of my mail and other printed material, I have formulated a policy over the years. That is, to handle all paperwork only once. Initially, this started as a means to maximize the time and effort of those whose eyes I use to decipher printed documents. I have discovered that this policy is even more effective in creating efficiency and priorities in my life.

Do or Don't Pending List

As a blind person in a print and paper world, I have learned several lessons that I think can benefit us all. Since I have people read all of my mail and other printed material, I have formulated a policy over the years. That is, to handle all paperwork only once.

Initially, this started as a means to maximize the time and effort of those whose eyes I use to decipher printed documents. I have discovered that this policy is even more effective in creating efficiency and priorities in my life.

Too many people waste effort and energy while creating anxiety by not dealing with things immediately. When I am confronted with a matter demanding attention, I have three choices. One: Do it now. Two: Don't do it at all. Or three: Put it on a pending list to be reviewed at a later date. While this seems elementary, it has revolutionized my business life. Each day, I simply follow my list of priorities and put any new projects I encounter into one of the three categories previously mentioned. In our lives, the truly important too-often takes a back seat to the immediate or the urgent.

Take a look at your "to do" list and ask yourself these questions with respect to each of the items, "What is the worst thing that would happen if I don't do this at all?" Then ask, "What is the best thing that could happen if I do this?" And finally ask, "Can this be just as effective if I do it later?"

I do not believe in procrastinating, but I do believe in prioritizing. Too often, we eliminate important things from our schedule, replacing it with tasks that could be done later or not at all.

We all spend a lot of time studying the best way to invest our money. Unfortunately, very little emphasis is placed on how we invest our most important and irreplaceable commodity - our time.

Today's the day!

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Article Tags: efficiency, Jim Stovall, priorities



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